Recycling of used materials is becoming an essential part of modern society. Recycling involves the processing of used materials into new products to reduce waste of potentially useful materials, decrease consumption of fresh raw materials, lower energy usage, reduce air pollution from incineration, and decrease water pollution. Recycling also decreases the need for landfills by reducing the need for waste disposal.
Used consumer electronic devices such as computers, printers, video monitors, radios and televisions, as well as used industrial equipment, is an increasing environmental concern. Due to ongoing technological advancement many electronic devices become obsolete within a short period of time, creating a large surplus of unwanted electronic devices that must be disposed of. In addition to the environmental concerns, there is a significant waste of useful materials in these electronic devices. In particular, many electronic devices contain components such as printed wiring assemblies, connectors and integrated circuits having gold plating. It is desirable to efficiently recover the gold plating from these components.